Much has been written about the PARCC and the negative effects this high stakes test will have on the students taking it for the first time this year. In the last few weeks, students in nine states, including New Jersey, have begun taking the test, most in the online format. Stories of students opting-out, parents leading social media anti-PARCC rallies, and technological glitches have filled our news feeds and have made us think that there is nothing worse than a student sitting down at the computer and taking an assessment.
But how do the students, especially the youngest students, feel about PARCC? These are the students who have grown up with technology all around them, the ones who have been playing on their parents’ smartphones long before they could say, “smartphone.” To find out the perspective of one of the youngest test takers, I turned to my own eight-year-old daughter. The whole of her standardized testing experience up until this point was the low-stakes, pencil and paper Terranova test, administered in 2nd grade. She enjoys reading, although she would rather play Minecraft or watch Netflix on the iPad than read a book. Math homework is a struggle every night. What would she think of a test that required her to sit at a computer for longer than she usually does, and navigate software, read passages, answer questions, and (gulp!) type?
So when my daughter came home from school each day this week, after a hug and a kiss and a recap of the “fun” parts of the day (recess, Girls on the Run), I asked her, “How was the PARCC test today?”
Day one: Her first response was, “It was confusing.” Hmm. I asked her how it was confusing, and she replied that she couldn’t figure out how to see both stories. She was referring to the final question of the test, when students have a writing task. The texts are both on the screen, but students have to toggle back and forth between them. I probed further, asking what she did. “Oh, I figured it out!” she proudly replied. (Good! Score one for independence and problem solving!) She later shared with me that both texts were stories that were familiar to her, and in fact were stories she had enjoyed reading in second grade. She was excited to see these comfortable texts on PARCC, authentic literature that was well within her reading level. What did she have to write about? She couldn’t remember, but she did tell me, “I wrote 76 sentences!” (Hopefully not all in one paragraph!) And how was the timing? She used all the time, but never felt rushed.
Day two: “Did you have to read two texts or one text today?” It turned out that today was the research simulation task, and they read one text and watched a video. The topic was not one that I would have thought would be interesting to an eight-year-old, but she surprised me by talking about how she made connections as she read. She recounted proudly that today she wrote 86 sentences. I asked her about the paragraphs, and she assured me that she did indeed divide her writing into paragraphs. Again, she used all the time given but she didn’t run out of time. There was no hint of stress, no worry about what the next day would bring, just a calm assurance that she could handle this test.
Day three: She couldn’t contain her giggles as she retold the funny story she had to read for the narrative task. She told me the story ended with “dot-dot-dot,” and they had to write the end of the story. What she wrote today wasn’t quite as long, since it was just an ending of a story. It sounded like what she wrote followed along with the story itself, and, in true eight-year-old-narrative-writing-fashion, it ended with the character going to bed. Today she had twenty minutes left over at the end, probably because she didn’t write as much. When asked about the reading questions, she said they were no big deal, both the EBSRs (two-part multiple choice) and the TECRs (technology-enhanced items like drop-and-drag).
Days four and five: Math. If there is one subject that has caused more controversy during the last few months, it’s math. Opponents have been quick to discount both the Common Core and the PARCC for math; however, I have been pleased with the development of my daughter’s math skills and knowledge under the umbrella of the Common Core. She was tiring of my questions at this point, but she did reference the tools needed to create equations and show her work. Were they any trouble? No. Did she have enough time to finish? Yes.
By the end of the week, my daughter was glad to be finished with the test, but she was no worse for wear by taking it. She said she enjoyed the experience and she liked taking the test on the computer. Once we get the results in, of course, we’ll know whether her assessment of, “It was easy,” was true or not, but for now, she is back to regular instruction and nightly homework, and I’m back to trying to convince her that reading is indeed just as much fun as Minecraft. Until the May PARCC test, of course.
Jennifer Caldwell
Executive Director
Standards Solution
Standards Solution
